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February 7, 2012

TD’s New RIA Chief Vows to Maintain ‘White Glove’ Service

Tom Nally, the successor to—and protégé of—Tom Bradley, says he will continue the “same passion and dedication” to the RIA model

Tom Nally, TDAI’s sales chief, will take over from Tom Bradley.

At the TD Ameritrade Institutional conference that just ended, TD Ameritrade CEO Fred Tomczyk went out of his way to laud TDAI President Tom Bradley for his 25 years of service with the company. On Monday, TD announced that Bradley will be leaving his position to become president of TD Ameritrade’s retail operation, while Tom Nally, who joined the company in 1994, will replace him as head of the RIA custody business at TD Ameritrade.

Bradley said he hired Nally 20 years ago, and the new president of TDAI has spent the last four years as TDAI’s sales chief. In an interview with AdvisorOne on Tuesday with both men, Nally pointed out he had run the company’s service, operations and technology operations as well. “I’ve grown up in the business,” he said, and he promised to maintain TD’s “white glove” service to its affiliated RIAs. “World class service is the most important thing” to advisors, Nally said, and while TD is “proud of our client satisfaction levels,” which he pointed out “we publish, so there’s accountability.”

When asked whether he will focus on bringing in new advisors or trying to gain more market share among existing RIAs who custody with TD but also have relationships with other custodians, Nally said, “Both.”

Bradley (left) has long been a champion of a fiduciary standard for all advice givers, and Nally said TD will continue its advocacy efforts in Washington. “The reason is we believe in the RIA model,” and promised to continue the practice of “when a retail customer comes to us” who needs the services of an RIA, “we’ll refer them” to RIAs.

Bradley said in the interview that Nally had been made a member of TD Ameritrade’s senior operating committee, suggesting TD’s confidence in Nally’s abilities. That committee, which reports directly to Tomczyk, is responsible for determining the strategic direction of the company. Bradley himself said he was “incredibly excited about the opportunity” to run TD Ameritrade’s retail distribution operations, which happened quickly he said, after his predecessor at retail operations, John Bunch, announced his intention to leave the company to take a “top leadership role” at an unnamed investment advisory firm.

Bunch’s resignation, and Bradley’s ascension, is effective this Friday.